Encore Global Management LP Makes New Investment in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Encore Global Management LP acquired a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 14,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1,388.8% in the 1st quarter. Opal Capital LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 23,734 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $286,660,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Finally, Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.6% in the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd now owns 50,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,995,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $77.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.75. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $71.47 and a one year high of $160.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.16%.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.